Image credit: Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious composited by ChatGPT
Discord is rolling out an age-verification system globally this week, sorting every account into adult, teen, or unconfirmed categories, based primarily on account activity.
Teenagers, defined as ages 13 to 17, keep the ability to message friends and join servers that aren't age-restricted. However, they message requests from people they don't already know get filtered into a separate inbox, sensitive images will be blurred or blocked, and their profiles become visible only to friends and small mutual servers.
Discord is moving now because age-assurance laws are spreading quickly across US states and countries around the world. In July, a Texas court Texas court ordered Discord to adopt the same age-assurance system it already runs in the UK, with monthly progress reports to the state's attorney general. There are similar requirements taking effect in Brazil.
Discord delayed a global rollout back in February after users worried, wrongly, that it would mean mandatory face scans and ID uploads. The new signals-based approach is the company's answer to that backlash.
